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From Start-Ups to Students, IP Matters

A few months back, we had the pleasure to meet young inventors Mariana Sanchez and John Trujillo. These students of the International Park of Creativity in Colombia embody the intellectual curiosity and innovative spirit found in youth all over the world.

What is unique about them is that Mariana and John have managed to harness these qualities and become accomplished inventors that are destined—if not determined—to change the world. At the age of 20 when most young adults are just figuring out what they want to do with their careers, John discovered and patented a device which detects petroleum, while Mariana developed a polymerase chain reaction (I had to look it up too!), which makes a purer form of DNA.

As young patent holders, both students are refreshingly aware of how intellectual property (IP) not only facilitates their own discoveries, but will benefit emerging economies like Colombia.

Too often people misconstrue IP as a type of currency only useful for established inventors or large-scale businesses. The stories of Mariana and John, as well as our other Voices of IP, show that from start-ups to students, intellectual property rights are integral to providing the world and the seven billion people who live on it with new technologies, advancements, and innovations.